Control of road projects may shift

By Vianna Davila :
June 11, 2012
: Updated: June 12, 2012 10:33am

Current expansion plans for Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 include nontoll and toll lanes that would be free for public transit — like VIA buses — and possibly for high-occupancy vehicles. Single-occupancy vehicles would pay a toll.

Toll lanes on the northern sections of Loop 1604 could become a reality sooner than expected, with work possibly beginning as early as next fall.

But public transit riders on north U.S. 281 also could get a significant edge over people using personal vehicles with the addition of an expressway lane designed to accelerate VIA Metropolitan Transit bus traffic through a few miles of the corridor.

Both proposals are among a mix of transportation projects that officials will vet in the coming days and weeks.

Who will control these and other road projects could soon change, depending on the future of the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority, the county's tolling agency. Its board oversees expansion projects on U.S. 281 and Loop 1604.

Today, the Bexar County Commissioners Court will vote on whether to assume all operations for the RMA. The decision, proposed by Commissioner Kevin Wolff, would mark a major overhaul of the organization. As of now, there are no plans to dissolve the RMA board.

Under current law, the RMA has the right of primacy, which gives it the authority to oversee the projects on U.S. 281 and Loop 1604.

The RMA wants to build 13 miles of toll lanes on Loop 1604 between Bandera Road and U.S. 281. It plans to put out a request for qualifications for the project this summer, said Leroy Alloway with RMA communications.

No work can start on the $572 million endeavor until the federal government issues environmental clearance for it. The clearance, if approved, is expected in January. If toll lanes are built, the existing free expressway lanes will remain in place. The possible toll lanes could be elevated or at the same level as the current road.

These and other transportation issues were aired Monday at a meeting of the San Antonio Mobility Coalition. Wolff and two RMA board members were in attendance.

“This is not the abolishment of the RMA,” Wolff said Monday. Rather, he said, he wants the RMA board to essentially hire the county as a contractor to handle its operations.

The RMA has a nine-member staff and a $1.6 million operations budget that comes mainly from state grants and loans. It does not yet collect revenue because it has not yet built any toll roads.

Other transportation issues are on the table this month:

Commissioners will vote today to allocate $100 million of Advanced Transportation District money to Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 to help fund new, nontoll expressway lanes on both corridors.

That money will be part of $370 million for expressways on another part of Loop 1604, from Bandera Road to Potranco Road, and on U.S. 281 from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak Boulevard.

Last week, officials said they needed an additional $52 million — $20 million of that from local sources — to finish the expressway projects. But this week, Texas Department of Transportation District Engineer Mario Medina said the local money already included in the plan is enough to leverage additional Texas Mobility Fund dollars for the project.

What's different about the U.S. 281 expansion plan is that it will include what are being called transit priority lanes, from Loop 1604 to Stone Oak. The lane will be free for public transit — specifically, VIA buses — and could connect directly to a planned park-and-ride in the area. Single-occupancy vehicles will pay a toll to use those lanes. High-occupancy vehicles will pay a reduced toll or will drive the lane for free.

Such lanes could also be established on Loop 1604 at some point.

Numerous questions remain about how all these moving parts — the RMA's future and the various project plans now up in the air — will affect one another.

But RMA board member Jim Reed, who also attended the Mobility Coalition meeting, said the authority is determined to work with its county partners.

“This is San Antonio,” he said. “And you work together in San Antonio. We're committed to work with the county on this.”

The RMA might not have much choice: The county appoints five of the RMA's six board members, with the last appointment coming from the county but requiring city approval. The governor appoints the chairman.